There have been 23 further coronavirus-related deaths and 921 new cases of the disease reported to the Department of Health.
A total of 3,865 people have died with Covid-19 while the cumulative number of infections is 207,720.
As of 9 February, 248,284 doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in Ireland. 158,904 people have received their first dose and 89,380 people have received their second dose.
The number of people in ICU with the virus is 173, this is an increase of one compared to yesterday. There are 959 Covid patients in hospital with 53 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said: "We have made progress in Ireland over recent weeks, but the rate of transmission of the disease is still extremely high and the risks Covid-19 poses to our vulnerable loved ones have not changed.
"Everyone is working hard to drive down Covid-19 infection in the community, and we must all continue to limit the number of daily contacts we have.
"The only way to limit the spread of Covid-19 is to limit our social contacts and follow the public health advice, wash our hands, maintain a social distance, wear a face covering where appropriate, work from home and stay at home."
This weekend, please avoid meeting people outside your household. Our social bubble consists of everybody our entire bubble is in contact with. If you have 1 person in your bubble, but that person has 10 people in theirs, you've now got 11 people in your bubble #COVID19 #holdfirm pic.twitter.com/OHgo5vhDok
— Dr Ronan Glynn (@ronan_glynn) February 12, 2021
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said restrictions similar to those currently in force under Level 5 will be in place for several weeks after 5 March.
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Answering questions in Cork this evening from RTÉ News, Micheál Martin said he could understand people's frustrations.
But he said it made sense to test the relaxation of restrictions and their impact on infection rates by moving "slowly to a more relaxed regime", instead of moving too quickly and risking the work done to reduce infection rates that had been put in since Christmas.
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The 14-day incidence rate of coronavirus per 100,000 population is now 292.8. This compares to a rate of 369 a week ago.
Counties with the highest number of infections include Monaghan (514.8), Carlow (402.2) and Waterford (388.2). Those with the lowest disease rate include Kerry (129.3), Kilkenny (132) and Roscommon (133.2).
The seven-day incidence rate is 126.6 - compared to 167 a week ago - and the five-day moving average is 835, also down on the previous week when it was 1,062.
Of the cases notified today, 453 are men and 466 are women while 66% are under 45 years of age.
There were 414 cases in Dublin, 87 in Cork, 51 in Kildare, 48 in Limerick, 47 in Meath and the remaining 274 cases were spread across all other counties.
21 of the deaths reported today occurred in February and two occurred in January. The median age of those who died was 84 and the age range was 57 - 95 years.
A further nine people have died in Northern Ireland after testing positive for Covid-19. Another 407 people have tested positive for the virus.
As of today, 401,966 vaccines have been administered in Northern Ireland, of which 373,414 were first doses and 28,552 were second doses.
The Irish College of General Practitioners Covid adviser Dr Mary Favier has said evidence from Israel shows that hospital admission rates for over 65s are now lower than for under 65s, after a very effective vaccination programme was implemented there.
Dr Favier also told RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne that extended Level 5 restrictions should not impede the roll-out of the vaccine programme and should not impede those over 70s who need to travel for vaccines as it is a permitted derogation from restrictions.
Earlier today, Health Service Executive CEO Paul Reid said that good trends in the number of cases of Covid-19 are providing "some relief" in the hospital system.
Also today, businesses operating in the events, exhibitions and trade show sectors expressed their disappointment at a new Government scheme designed to help them survive through the pandemic.
Announced on Tuesday, the Covid-19 Business Aid Scheme will offer firms whose turnover has fallen at least 75% due to Covid-19 restrictions grants of up to €8,000.
But organisations targeted by the scheme claim it is "totally inadequate" and will not make a significant difference.
It comes as an additional 18 states were added to the Government's coronavirus 'high-risk' list of countries.
The Government is due to publish legislation that will require such passengers arriving here to complete this quarantine at a designated facility.
Additional reporting: Paschal Sheehy
